Saturday 27 June 2015

FEEDBACK: Saturday 4 July 2015, Rhodes Memorial – Heartbreak Hill

Just a short recap on Saturday's run.  Both groups set off from the Zoo parking, towards King's Block house via Heartbreak Hill. After never ending hills, we headed back to the start, with the Recovery group heading down Newlands Ravine and the Main group heading a little further south before turning back.

Winter sunrises in Cape Town


Runners giving the cyclist a push up the hill. 


a 'heatbreaking' time up the hill.



Trees in Newland's Ravine.



Friday 26 June 2015

FEEDBACK: Saturday 27 June 2015, Buffels Bay-Kanonkop-Paulsberg Circuit

Many runners turned out for Saturday's run despite the long drive to Cape Point.  The weather started off chilly with a slight breeze and cloud cover.  But once the sun broke through the clouds, it warmed up a little.

Beautiful colours at sunrise.












All three groups started at the Buffels Bay parking, with the route going past the visitors centre before  crossing the Bortjiesrif road.  From here, it was a climb to up Kanonkop to the old canon.  Here, the Main group carried on up and around Paulsberg.  The Recovery group also carried on and up around Paulsberg to a turn-around point at about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The Main and Recovery groups returned to the old canon to meet up with the Walk/Run group.  From here, all three groups made their way off the mountain to "Booi se skerm" before they returned to Buffels Bay along the coast with a short beach section.  

Recovery Group at the 'old canon'.
The Main group completed 12km in just under 2hrs, the Recovery group 10km in 2hrs and the Walk/Run group completed 8km in just over 2hrs.
 
Views along the coast on the way back to Buffels Bay

Monday 22 June 2015

Feedback on Saturday 20th June’s Mid-Winter Sortie to Noordhoek’s Long Beach.

Feedback on Saturday 20th June’s Mid-Winter Sortie to Noordhoek’s Long Beach.



Despite a cold 6 degree Celsius start to the morning, 29 smiling Trailers turned up for the mid-winter run along Noordhoek beach, though much hand rubbing and foot stomping was evident as the group signed in. With the shortest day of the year just one sleep away, three groups of Trailers set off along the pristine stretch of white sand in the dim morning light towards Slangkop lighthouse just after 7.30am.


Pete had arranged the weather perfectly and there wasn’t a breath of wind to deter us as we scampered along the hard, wet sand.  As the morning developed, the temperature rose to a balmy 10 degrees and our fingers defrosted as our blood started pumping. 


Seagulls and other sea birds were plentiful, as were the horses being exercised – galloping at full speed in the yellow-pink dawn light. It was a feast for the eyes;  the sky melting into the sea in soft layers of pinks, blues and greys, and the frothy waves lapping gently on the pale sand.
 


 


The recovery group stopped for photos at the wreck of the SS Kokopo.

(A short history lesson here: This steamship was on her way to Sydney when she ran ashore on 25 May 1900. A north-westerly gale had picked up and, with visibility impaired by driving rain, the captain mistook Chapman’s Peak for Cape Point and ordered ‘hard to port, full steam ahead’. Instead of sailing into False Bay the boat smacked straight into the beach. The boiler, rudders and ribs can still be seen sticking out of the sand.)



There were a couple of moist toes at the little river crossing despite Neil’s true gentlemanly assistance to the Recovery Group ladies but not sufficient to dampen our spirits, but the most challenging obstacle on this run was the glossy seaweed which lay in large piles on the dry sand as we rounded the little outcrop towards Kommetjie.  
 
This stretch gave us a leg-lifting, heel-sinking workout as we weaved between the slimy green-brown kelp and sent the scavenging birds scattering into sky.





It was just at the turnaround point that the sun made its glorious appearance over the mountain to the north and the flat-topped outline of Table Mountain was visible in the golden glow. A couple of surfers posed conveniently for a post-card photo op. ;)



The return run was even more beautiful and awe-inspiring than the outward one. The sunrise ahead lit the morning sky and the waves rolled gently onto the sand in their hypnotic rhythm. More horses greeted us as we approached the Chapman’s Peak shadows and we enjoyed watching them splash at the water’s edge. It was one of those mornings that could have gone on forever.


The statistics:

The main group of 18 runners did the full distance to the lighthouse - some 15 kms. The leaders managed an amazing sprint in 1h47 and the tail-enders ran up the boardwalk in 2h10 or so. 

The 6-strong recovery group did 12.5 kms in just over 2 hours and the 5-man (and woman) run/walk group did11kms in 1h 57m.



Blog post and photos by Lorraine Nevin                    

(If anyone has any more photos, please share! )






Sunday 7 June 2015

FEEDBACK: Saturday 13th June, Constantia Green Belts

42 runners arrived for a run on the Constantia Greenbelts. All three groups left from the Constantia Sports grounds and made their way up to Cecelia Forest parking via the Alphen and Klaasenbosch trails. The Main group did an extra loop in Cecelia Forest before heading back to the start via the Diep River Trail.

All three groups at Ceclia Forest.
The Main group completed 15km in 2hrs and the Recovery and Walk/Run groups completed just over 10km in 1hr 40min.
Main group route.
Well done to Elaine who has completed 25 sorties and wears a red trailers shirt, Leslie and Lorraine who have completed 50 (picture of Leslie below), and Richard who has completed 75 sorties.  I hope these achievements inspires our new recruits to continue to join us on Saturdays and run through the Cape Town winter.


Leslie wearing his green TMT shirt (50 sorties) with pride.

Friday 5 June 2015

FEEDBACK: Saturday 6 June, Kleinplaas dam circuit

Rewarding views for our early morning efforts.
A break in the week's rainy weather meant a cold but clear Saturday run. The later winter start has also recruited more runners, with the Recovery group (or as Lorraine prefers, the Tweenies) being the same size as the Main group.

At 7:30, all three groups left from the parking on Black Hill road for the dams. The Main group did an anti-clockwise loop to the Kleinplaas dam, the Recovery group did a clockwise loop to the Lewis Gay dam and the Walk/Run group followed the short cut paths.
Route and profile of Main group.
The route was reasonably easy undulating bush trails with a few modest hills with some sandy stretches.  The week's rain had made the sand good for running.

The Recovery group at the Lewis Gay dam - Ballet poses!



Kleinplaas dam.

The Main group.
The Main group completed 14km and the Recovery group completed 11.6km in 1h 50min. The walk/run group came in at just over 2hrs for 10.4km.

Thank you to Piero for organising this week's run.

Treat! The proteas out and staring to bloom.


And some of the ladies in the Recovery group enjoy a well-deserved breakfast.